PSA for fans of the Boston Bruins, and for that matter, the Washington Capitals: Thursday night’s game between the B’s and Caps won’t be on regular TV. So no NESN, ESPN, or TNT.
Instead, the game is streaming exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu. So at the very least, you’ll need an internet connection. Hard to believe there are many Bruins fans out there (people, really) who only have cable TV and no internet, but finding the Bruins-Capitals game will require a couple of extra steps for those who aren’t prepared.
You’ll need to sign up to ESPN+ and/or Hulu in order to access the game, but wouldn’t have to pay for it, since both services offer a 30-day free trial. If you’re OK just paying up, your best deal would be the “Disney Bundle,” which gets you Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $12.99 a month.
ESPN+ costs $6.99 a month on its own, which in my opinion makes it a worthwhile investment for die-hard hockey fans. You can stream dozens of out-of-market games every week. On Thursday alone, when the Bruins and Capitals aren’t on, you can use the streaming service to watch Golden Knights-Canadiens, Panthers-Oilers, Predators-Jets, and Sharks-Kraken. (This is NOT an advertisement!)
The broadcast Thursday night will be an ESPN production, with Bob Wischusen on play-by-play, Brian Boucher on color commentary, and A.J. Mleczko reporting from rinkside.